(The FASEB Journal. 2013;27:1065.27)
Oat usage in food production as a bioactive component source
Duygu Gocmen
Despite oats’ early acceptance, the crop became widely accepted only as animal fodder. Having more nutritional value and functional properties, in recent years oats and oat products started to use for human diet. Oat is useful for the control of diabetes, lipid profile, total and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. Oat grain contains high amounts of dietary fiber (DF), especially β-glucan. The antioxidant potential of oats has also been recognized for many years. Ferulic and caffeic acid derivatives were proposed to be the source of the antioxidant activity of oat. Phenolic acids, alk(en)ylresorcinols, and avenanthramides are phenolic compounds typically found in grain products, with avenanthramides only in oats. Antioxidants can also provide health benefits against those free radicals in vivo associated with membrane damage, aging, heart disease, and cancer in humans. These all nutritional and functional benefits attributed to dietary fiber, β-glucan and phenolic compounds have recently greatly increased interest in oat as a human food. In this review, nutritional and functional properties and health benefits of oat products have been briefly discussed.